Until recently, Indonesian, the national language of a vast, plural nation state, was spoken by very few of the Javanese who live in south-central Java. But the national language is now being learned, along with a national identity, and is the key vehicle for modernity and progress in these communities. Errington has written a fascinating account of the role of language in radical social transformation.

Errington explores linguistic evidence of social change among the traditional priyayi elite of Surakarta in south-central Java. Employing data from texts, interviews, observed speech, and questionnaires, he shows a progressive leveling in the language used to denote traditional status differences, and he demonstrates how perceptions of speech styles reflect etiquette and the views of the users.
Errington suggests that a reciprocal assimilation process changes the way members of Java s traditional elite deal with each other in a modern urban milieu. The argument and the material on which...

Drawing on both original texts and critical literature, Linguistics in a Colonial World surveys the methods, meanings, and uses of early linguistic projects around the world.

• Explores how early endeavours in linguistics were used to aid in overcoming practical and ideological difficulties of colonial rule
  
• Traces the uses and effects of colonial linguistic projects in the shaping of identities and communities that were under, or in opposition to, imperial regimes
  
• Examines enduring influences of colonial linguistics in...